World · Latin America · published 2026-08-20 · via France 24

Panama Canal to Reduce Daily Transits as El Nino Drought Persists

The Panama Canal Authority announced it will lower the number of daily vessel passages starting September 3, from 36 to 34, and further to 32 by September 15, due to a severe drought linked to El Nino. The waterway, which handles about 5% of global maritime trade and roughly 40% of US container traffic, is facing depleted water supplies from below-average rainfall in its watershed. Additional conservation measures, including reduced maximum draft for large ships, have already been implemented to address the long-term sustainability of the canal.

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The canal depends entirely on rainfall captured in two artificial lakes to maintain the water levels required for vessel passage. With precipitation in the watershed falling short of seasonal forecasts, the authority has staged its reductions carefully, trimming daily transits from 36 to 34 in early September and then

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